From the Courtland Journal
Farm fresh produce greets customers as they step inside: zucchini, asparagus, tomatoes, cherries, green peppers, peaches, apples; a rainbow of meticulously displayed fruits and vegetables.
What isn't grown in the soil surrounding the Depot Market is sourced locally, a yummy array that runs the gamut from pickled eggs to creamy cheeses, jars of golden honey and 100 percent maple syrup in swirls of thick amber that's been poured into glass bottles shaped like maple leaves. There's the irresistible fruit slushies and hand-churned ice cream (we double dog dare you to try to leave without one or the other), fresh cut flowers and grab-and-go lunches like a pulled pork Cuban sandwich or an herbed chicken salad heaped onto a buttery croissant; in other words, things that put a boring PB&J to shame.
Dan and Kathy Kuhn's Depot Market has been luring in locals, explorers and just-travelin'- through's for the past 35 years. The building itself is hard to resist so most people don't; a cheery oasis on a long stretch of Highway 36 that radiates Norman Rockwell vibes with it's red doors and batten siding painted periwinkle blue with bright white trim.
"In many ways, the Depot Market acts as the de-facto welcome center for Courtland because of the friendly staff and local information available," said Marci Penner, co-director of the Kansas Sampler Foundation. "There is something about this place, and the story behind it, that just makes you love rural."
It began on a whim...
"Come up and visit!" The voice on the other end of the rotary phone in the late 1970s was a buddy who lived in the snug little farm community of Courtland, a town Dan had never even heard of before. On a whim, he fired up his green, 1969 Chevy pickup and headed to Republic County, about two hours north of where he was living in Manhattan. When he arrived in Courtland, the land that greeted him was rural, remote, vast. It felt like... freedom. "I remember driving around thinking, 'I can do whatever I want here,'" he said.
By the time K-State handed him a degree in crop production in 1979, he packed up, moved to Courtland, and took a job managing 30 acres of apple orchards just north of town.
"One of my fondest memories is when we took a Cub Scout trip to the orchard and Dan toured us around on a hay rack ride," said Tanner Johnson, president of the Swedish-American State Bank. "Dan had mastered splitting an apple in two with his hands and would then slice it into pieces with his pocketknife so all the Scouts could sample an apple fresh off the tree."
As time went on, Dan dreamed of a retail space, and in the late eighties, he bought an acre of land next to Highway 36. He then set his sights on the abandoned Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe Railroad depot in downtown Courtland, hiring a father and son team to do the tedious work of lifting the structure onto a flatbed trailer and slowly transporting it 1.2 miles down Main Street to his acreage on 36 without inviting disaster.
"They drove about one mile an hour," he said. "The dad was pulling one Winston after another the whole way."
Once in place, Dan got to work tearing at the guts; getting the building rewired and plumbed, pulling off lath and plaster, and replacing all the windows that had seen a rock sail through them, just for kicks. The Courtland Pride Club volunteered to scrape layers and layers of peeling paint before giving it a fresh coat. Three months later, the Depot Market was open for business.
"I thought we'd cut a fat hog in the butt," he said. When their first day ended, he only had 65 bucks in the cash register. "Not exactly a fortune."
A growing season
But what he did have was tenacity. Weathering twists and turns over the past three decades, the Depot Market has expanded in size, added a greenhouse, and now employs more than 30 people, including Mary Reynolds, who works the Depot counter.
"I love my job... it's my therapy job, as my husband, Dan, calls it," she says. "Watching people smile means a lot to me. People tell me they stop because it looks interesting and have heard good things." (People also stop because they want a hug from Mary).
They've gotten into the wholesale business, too. Asparagus, watermelon and pumpkins can be found at Hen House and Price Chopper stores in Kansas City. Tomatoes, cucumbers and melons adorn the produce sections of Gaeddert Farm Stands around central Kansas.
A succession plan is also in the works. Mark Stadler began working at the Depot Market in 2014, the summer before his junior year at Benedictine College.
"I was looking for a summer job and had a few friends who had worked on the farm back in high school," he said. "I contacted Dan telling him my interest in working that summer. In college, I was beginning to get interested in agriculture, especially produce farming. After my first season here, I could see some sort of produce farming fit me better than what I was going to school for (a double major in Theology and Evangelization and Catechesis)."
Mark's first job at the Depot involved picking zucchini and yellow squash in the morning and hoeing pumpkins in the afternoon. "I decided not to return to college. From there, continuing to work for Dan and Kathy seemed like a good 'apprenticeship' to learn what I could about produce, wholesale and retail. It wasn't until a few years later that conversations about succession began."
Mark's wife Emilee also worked at the Depot counter for two summers prior to the birth of their first daughter, Caroline. "We hope to carry on the Depot's mission to serve local and fresh produce as well as to continue providing an atmosphere that offers connection amongst families, the community, and the farmers that grow their food," they said.
The apple of our eye
Over the past 35 years, the Depot Market has inspired other folks to go for it and turn their own dreams of a brick and mortar business in Courtland into a reality.
"There's no way I would have believed our brewery could have been feasible in town had Dan not paved the way for a local-regional business model like the Depot to show it can be done," said Irrigation Ales co-owner Luke Mahin.
"Dan and Kathy Kuhn have truly pioneered the concept of building a business in our community that goes beyond the conventional," added Courtland Mayor Robin Carlson. "Their ability to adapt and evolve their business has not only provided for their family but has also thoughtfully addressed the ever-changing needs of Courtland. Their vision and dedication have become a cornerstone of our community's growth and resilience."
In a recent Facebook post, Dan can be seen standing in the midst of a lush orchard, trees adorned with juicy, pinkish red apples peeking out from amongst bright green leaves.
"We are now picking Gala apples," he said in the video. "I'm really excited about this crop. I've been raising apples since I was 21 years old and we've never had a more beautiful crop than we have this year."
In addition to the Galas, Jonathans and Crimson Crisp apples are ready for the picking until mid- October. And soon, there'll be plump pumpkins stacked outside the Depot's front door, hayrides, the corn maze to wander through and other seasonal activities as summer begins to wane, and a crisp new season unfolds.
"It's a magical place to be in the fall," he added. He isn't lying.
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